£1.8m crime debt of EastEnders star's father is slashed to £220,000

The criminal father of a former EastEnders star has had his £1.8 million debt to the taxpayer cut by a huge amount despite being condemned by a judge for his "disgraceful" conduct.

Vincent Stapleton, whose daughter Nicola Stapleton played homeless tearaway Mandy in the soap, was jailed for five years in 2001 for involvement in an £11 million VAT fraud.

Because of assets already seized, the reduction will mean Stapleton only has to pay £220,000. He was ordered to pay back £1.7 million of his criminal profits, but failed to hand over a penny voluntarily, causing his debt to rise to more than £1.8 million after interest.

Prosecutors had argued that Stapleton should be sent back to prison for failing to pay.

However, much of his debt was written off at Blackfriars crown court after judge Ian Karsten QC yesterday accepted that Stapleton, 60, who was granted a "certificate of inadequacy" at an earlier hearing, could no longer be shown to have enough money to pay.

Judge Karsten admitted that the court might be "suspicious" that Stapleton - who has also admitted buying two properties since his conviction with fraudulent mortgages and lying repeatedly to the authorities - had further "hidden assets", but said that prosecutors had failed to prove this.

Judge Karsten said that Stapleton's new confiscation would be set at £569,391, although because receivers have managed to obtain £349,000 of his assets, that means he will have an outstanding debt of only £220,000.

The court heard that Stapleton, who has previous convictions for robbery, lives with his daughter in South Norwood.